Nothing but an Inmate
by ImaginaryCity
Summary: This story picks up where season 4 ended. Will Daya shoot Humps? The fight against a corrupt prison system isn't easy and the inmates of Litchfield Prison find that the punishment in doing so is a harsh one! Season 5 OITNB Episode 1.
1. Chapter 1 Nothing but an Inmate

_Disclaimer: I do not own Orange is the New Black._

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Chapter 1 Nothing but an Inmate

Humphrey positioned defenselessly on his knees, wondering his fate while a crowd of inmates urged for his death. All touched with a sense of power- power that Humps once felt stepping into the prison, feeling above the women due to his status of authority and their lack of freedom. Now, he was nothing more than a prisoner- outnumbered by women he abused in someway. The scene revealed how quickly life could end- instantaneously, like the tragic death of Poussey Washington. At that moment, the inmates were truly fighting against the unjust treatments in the prison systems. Shouts aimed at him sharply; mostly in English and some in Spanish, which he clearly understood. He mainly heard, 'shoot him,' 'pop his ass,' 'fuck you,' and 'kill that piece of shit.' CO McCullough lied on the floor shielding her ears, preparing herself to hear the worst.

Daya felt empowered and the cheers only encouraged her to do the very thing that could potentially prevent her from ever seeing her daughter again. A rush of emotions ran through her along with questions and thoughts- _will I get ratted on? The lady CO could rat me out. Should I take her out too? Am I really gonna come this far and not do anything?_ Daya took a good look at Humps, trying to conjure up the worst ways she could take advantage of him- aside from the obvious. She entertained the idea of smashing his radio and forcing him to eat the splattered pieces in the same way he forced Maritza to eat the baby mouse. Daya grew angry as she scanned his uniform as it provoked flashbacks of her fiance, CO Bennett.

She reflected back to that moment of Bennett on one knee. She slipped the ring on her finger, optimistic for a future where her daughter could grow up with both parents in her life. Bennett's promise to her was as genuine as the gum paper wrap ring- it was false hope and Daya's dream was nothing more than a false reality. The weeks had passed and Daya felt as though she was speaking to him yesterday. She would never be able to shake how coldly he left her- without a trail or consideration for their daughter's welfare. _Deadbeat dad._ The words echoed in her head similarly to the inmates' cheers that echoed in the corridors.

She stood like a rebel, gritting her teeth with a severe mean mug ready to break the law in the worst way.

Daya had gone too far to back down now. Her family and other inmate families were rooting her on. _Give them what they want, right?_

"Eat lead, you piece of shit!" Daya said and the crowd roared.

A shot fired- but not from Daya! Screams broke out as everyone, but Daya, ducked to the floor. Daya froze in panic with trembling hands, distracted by the unknown gunman from afar. It made the perfect diversion for the sadistic CO to snatch the gun from Daya's hand. Her heart dropped when she saw Humps aiming the gun at her. She knew her life was over.

In a twist of fate, Humps directed the gun on McCullough and pulled the trigger- shooting her in the back, eliciting a pool of blood to form beneath her body. Prolonged screams of horror followed along with a stampede of inmates running to escape, as well as Daya who quickly became unfrozen.

Another shot was fired by Humps, causing the inmates to duck for cover.

"Hault!" A woman's voice, other than an inmate, stabbed the air. "Anyone makes a false move, gets a bullet to the head."

Everyone stopped in place, not too far away from the crime scene. Humps slid the gun across and assumed the position of a scared vulnerable victim, lying on the floor with his hands shielding his head.

The woman giving demands was heard walking towards the crime scene with her heels clicking against the floor as if demanding dominance over the situation.

"Oh my God!" she gasped at the CO's who were lying on the floor. She remained cautious of not getting any blood on her Prada shoes.

Humps uniform was becoming stained by McCullough's blood that was drifting towards his direction. For him, it was a feeling of victory- her blood stain on his clothes would only reinforce the stereotype of prisoners being bloodthirsty violent people. He looked up to see a slim figured woman with dark hair, dark eyes and clothed in black business attire.

"Thank God" Humps positioned himself to his feet, looking shocked at the blood that stained his uniform and aiming a concerned look at McCullough's body before turning to the woman. "It all happened so fast. Who are you?"

"Linda Ferguson, Director of Purchasing." She remained with the gun aimed at the inmates for protection. "We need an ambulance. Alright, everyone report back to your cells immediately with your hands up."

The inmates stared confusingly at Ferguson. None of them budged from where they stood. Judy King and Maritza turned to each other with King wondering what did it mean for her as far as her early release. King wanted to get the hell out of there now since CO's were shooting other CO's- it was a madhouse!

Ferguson grew angry at their failure to obey orders and stormed towards the black inmates, placing her gun to Taystee's forehead.

"Do you want to die?! Because I will blow your fucking brains out and no one will give a damn about you because you're nothing but an inmate and that's all you'll ever be! Back to your cells _inmates_ , NOW!"

Taystee wasn't afraid or sad, but angry and it took every strength in her body to restrain herself from punching Ferguson. It was a battle that Taystee [and Ferguson] knew she would lose. The battle had already been lost. Over two hundred inmates found at the crime scene and they were all suspects. _Nothing but an inmate._ The words reverberated in Taystee's head eliciting a flashback of Poussey's death. It didn't matter to people outside of prison that Poussey was kind-natured with no history of violence. She was seen as the same as the rest, as an inmate. Their uniform presented them with an entire different identity from their own. The sad truth was that Ferguson could actually kill Taystee and walk away as a free woman justifying her action in doing so as self-defense. Ferguson's reason would be creditable due to her high status in power. Taystee backed away with an anger inside of her that blazed like a fire.

The incident drew a brief smirk on Humps face.

"Hands up to where I can see them!" Ferguson demanded as the inmates headed back to their "cells." She then turned to Humps while dialing 911, "Are you able to identify which inmate have the gun?"

" _Have?_ " Humps said confusingly. He searched the last spot he slid it, growing an accelerated heartbeat, for the gun was missing. He scanned around him and it was nowhere to be found. He swallowed hard as if taking a large pill. It occurred to him that anyone could have taken it during his mock attempt in pretending to be a vulnerable victim.

"Yes. Who forced you to the floor at gunpoint?"

His head began spinning with endless scenarios of inmates taking their revenge on him.

"It was one of the Spanish Harlem chickas."

"We need an ambulance to Litchfield Penitentiary..." Ferguson said, speaking into the phone before directing her question to Humps. "Which one?"

He shrugged. "The one with the lips and bad attitude... Diaz."

Humps convinced himself that Daya wanted to finish the job, which led her to grab the gun from the floor in the second and first place.

"Yes we have a suspect." Ferguson replied on the phone before calling out to the inmates. "Inmate Diaz, hands to the wall! Everyone else presume walking with your hands in the air."

Daya had that repeated feeling in her chest again when Humps aimed the gun at her. She knew that her life was officially over and the chances of seeing her daughter or mother again were terminated.

Ferguson and Humps slowly approached her, with Ferguson aiming the gun and Humps preparing to frisk her. The inmates that looked back were threatened by Ferguson to keep it moving or else.

Humps performed the frisk, searching her breast first for more than several times with the first few times being for his own pleasure. After not finding anything, he moved down to her lower back, searching thoroughly around her waist, finding to his discovery a double edge sharp pencil.

It was right before joining the riot that Daya placed it there to protect herself. She didn't have as many contrabands as her fellow inmates so she grabbed the most convenient thing that could be used as a weapon, which she kept under her mattress.

Humps smiled and grabbed the pencil, holding it up for Ferguson to see. "Looks like an intent to stab." He handed the pencil to Ferguson and continued to search her body for the gun.

The paramedics along with the police arrived at the scene of McCullough's body, which she was pronounced dead.

Humps continued his search, feeling down her legs, uncovering that the weapon was not in her possession. He paused with a stare of shock and slight terror before repeating the search. After not finding anything else he balled his fist to hit the wall, leaving a blood mark from his knuckles behind.

It was too late to perform a search on the other inmates as they had already vacated the area and doing so would be considered a high risk.

The paramedics quickly moved McCullough's body from the floor, placing it carefully in the body bag and then positioning it on the stretcher. Two bulky policemen, one tall and the other average height, approached Ferguson and Humps, directing their question to Humps about contact information to immediately notify McCullough's family.

Daya remained with her hands on the wall and broke down in tears with her voice slightly cracking. "It wasn't me, I didn't shoot her."

"Shut up!" The policemen roared at her, aggressively placed her hands behind her back and cuffed her tightly to the brink of inability to feel her own blood flow. Ferguson still had the gun on her.

Humps nodded. "She's the murderer alright... but the gun is still at large. And to be honest, I fear for my safety."

"Don't worry, sir." The shorter policeman said. "The laws are enforced to protect people like you and we will call in a SWAT team to perform a full search until that weapon is uncovered. Justice will be served. And you should get a paramedic to take a look at that." He said, referring to Humps bloody knuckles.

But, Humps enjoyed the feel of blood too much to ask for the assistance of a paramedic.

Ferguson held the gun at Daya's direction until Daya was taken away by the policemen, entirely out of sight.

Humps took a deep breath while asking himself who took the gun if not Daya. He hoped that SWAT would retrieve the weapon considering that everyone wanted him dead. In a very dark tone, he repeated under his breath, _justice will be served_.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2 Lockdown

Chapter 2 Lockdown

A very stressed-out Caputo ran his hand over his balding head as he paced his office with Humps watching him.

Humps frowned. "Are you saying that you don't believe me?" he asked to which only frustrated Caputo, causing him to grow angry at Humps.

"I'm saying that if an inmate had a gun, it would make more sense if they shot you. And how the hell could you bring a gun to work?!"

Humps aimed an offended expression at Caputo. "To my defense, I was concerned for my safety. These inmates are like animals; you kill one and they all come clawing after you." he paused, unwilling to shake Caputo's initial comment. "Why would it make more sense if they shot me?"

"I'm not stupid, Humphrey." Caputo gets in Humps' face. "The walls talk and I hear things."

Without saying a word, Humps wondered exactly what Caputo has heard.

Ferguson entered Caputo's office, placing her cellphone in her purse to speak with him.

"Okay, inmate Diaz is in maximum security and inmates are being searched as we speak by MCC's SWAT team."

Caputo ran his index and thumb finger over his graying mustache. "MCC has a SWAT team?"

"We like to come prepared at all cost. Of course a very low cost. We contacted male facilities that released inmates due to overcrowding and provided those particular inmates with jobs at a very low wage as possible. They're eager to work because, let's be honest, who wants to hire a convicted felon."

"Doesn't that pose a threat to the safety of the women here?" Caputo asked. "Having armed men, who are only out of prison due to overcrowding, perform a search in a women's prison sounds like a recipe for disaster."

"Don't worry, if anything happens they're already in prison." She shrugged with half a smile.

Her words somehow seem to mollify Caputo.

Outside of Caputo's office door was Danny Pearson, hunched down behind a janitor's cart, writing in a small notebook.

There were two SWAT men to a dorm, each appeared heavily armed with enough ammo to take the life out of someone- if prison didn't take it first. They pointed their assault rifles at the women while blurting derogatory things at them. If insults were not enough, these men were aggressively pushing the inmates around. They were strict when it came to maintaining control over the inmates and had a no bullshit policy- anyone that challenged it would be shot where they stood, or at least that's how they were perceived.

The women stood outside their bunks with a pessimistic outlook for the future. The Black dorm and Spanish dorm received additional hostile treatment from the men, while the CO's watched from the side like defenseless children. Like most inmates, Flaca couldn't block the image of Humps killing McCollough. It haunted her how manipulative and corrupt the CO's could be. _Daya's innocent._ The words repeated in her head as if it could be heard by others and validated as proof for Daya's innocence. An actual tear drop ran passed her tattooed one and she sniffed, feeling all of the emotions hitting her hard.

"Head up, inmate!" One of the SWAT men screamed while pointing his gun at Flaca's temple. She was the first to get her bunk raided. The men bared no regard to the women's personal possessions; everything was thrown, broken or ripped apart.

Meanwhile in the White dorm, it was less hectic compared to the other dorms, but nonetheless, the inmates received the same verbal treatment. White pride group were in near proximity to each other, despite being told to stay in their own bunks. Brandy couldn't help but notice Kasey's hands trembling uncontrollably.

"What're you so nervous for?" Brandy asked. "You know they're just gonna strip search the coloreds- they're the ones all wild eyed and violent. You seen what happened out there with that brownie."

"She didn't shoot anyone! Fuck! Things will be even stricter before and with the new guards, they're bound to kill someone else…"

There was a pause between them before Brandy interceded the silence.

"Remember when I told you that we have to come prepared? Rocks in socks, that type of shit?"

"Of course I do." Kasey replied back, sounding slightly annoyed.

Brandy raised her own shirt to which Kasey stared in shock to see the missing gun tucked in her friend's pants.

"Shit!" It was the only word that slipped Kasey's lips.

Brandy nodded with a smirk on her face, until the SWAT men rushed in, demanding every inmate to stand outside their bunks for a thorough search. It didn't take long for them to perform a body search after tearing apart their bunks, leaving a trail of scattered mess behind. Brandy couldn't recall the last time she sweated that much before or held an increasingly accelerated heartbeat. One of the SWAT men retrieved the weapon from his frisk and then aimed it to her forehead causing her to gasp in shock. He then gave the gun to his partner and escorted the inmate out of the dorm. His joke elicited a flashback to Brandy of Daya aiming the gun at her and her friends during the riot.

Caputo slammed the phone down, inhaling profoundly as he turned his eyes to Humps, who was sitting across from him.

"The gun has been uncovered. Now as for you, you will take a temporary leave of absence without pay."

"How is that fair when-"

"You brought a gun into my prison! This is grounds for termination. I'm being soft here." Caputo pointed to Humps as a measure to accentuate on the punishment. Caputo's migraine became more evident when thinking of his upcoming, yet again, news speech on another death at Litchfield Penitentiary.

It didn't take long for Humps to relay the news to Piscatella.

Piscatella's eyes were watery for the death of his friend, McCullough, but his voice remained unscathed like his posture of a combat soldier. His dry beard hinted to his determination of concealing all emotions, but underneath it was a strong jawline that shivered so unrestrainedly, it projected sadness through his expression. Being the type that expressed extreme sovereignty, Piscatella made it his due diligence to revert Humps' leave of absence. Though demanding, Piscatella found himself being threatened yet again by Caputo's statement of his past work history. The mere thought made Piscatella blush slightly with gaping eyes and surprisingly provoked him to abide Caputo's decision. The decision left Dixon and Stratman out of work as well for not abiding the rules. It was added stress for Caputo, another death and fewer staff.

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 _Nothing but darkness and cold air surrounded Piscatella as he stared up at the tiny constellations that filled the night sky like scattered diamonds in a voided black space. His light jacket barely offered him any warmth from the harsh Colorado wind that blew in his direction. Despite the freezing temperatures, being the disciplined man he was, he felt the need to impose a disposition that could withstand any type of weather brought on to him. He didn't mind being warmed every now and then, especially if it was by his close friend Goremen._

 _Goremen's arms were protected by Piscatella's heavy black jacket, which entirely sealed the upper half of his underclothes. Goremen lended a hand to Piscatella's cheek, his hand was also covered by Piscatella's gloves._

 _"I love being out here with you." Goremen said with a naturally deep voice that somewhat contradicted his petite frame. His blond hair was chopped down to the scalp of his skin in honor of some cult brotherhood. The height comparison between the two was like a small boy looking up at a tall tree, being that Goremen was only 5 foot 7 inches. Goremen continued, inhaling and exhaling the cold wind as if it was something pleasantly sweet and addictive, "nature is such a beautiful thing that most people take for granted. It is an abstract art that could only be appreciated by those who see the beauty of it."_

 _Piscatella returned, gazing into Goremen's eyes. Goremen had been the type of man Piscatella always thought about being with as a teenager._

 _"Desi bear, let's warm up next to the firepit. Hell, we can take our clothes off and rely on each other's body heat for warmth."_

 _Piscatella smiled. "Maybe another time. We should leave now, it's getting late."_

An annoyed sigh escaped Piper as she stood in her bunk with her other three mates. It had been a full 24 hours into the lockdown and no one had been permitted to leave their bunks- not even to use the bathroom. Instead of using a toilet behind the comfort of a stall, these women were given a bucket to do all of their business in. There was only one bucket per bunk and within 24 hours their bunks reeked with the smell of urine and gas from restrained bowel movements. Their restroom, cafeteria, and sleeping quarters became an all-in-one place during the lockdown.

"It is unjust to punish every inmate on the account of other people's actions." Piper said while scanning the new guards on duty.

Red let out a chuckle. "I'm sure the new guards over there want to hear all about fair treatment."

"Alex and I wasn't even in the riot." Piper said, nearly under her breath because speaking was prohibited. "It is against basic human rights to force this type of unsustainable living situation. Our families are in the dark about our well-being considering they took away our visitation and phone rights."

"We're all the same to them." Red said in her low voice that made her Russian accent more prominent. "It's the prison suit that strips us from our identity and marks us as identical. One bad apple, the rest the same- it's prison mathematics."

While the rest of the inmates suffered in their tight bunks, Yoga Jones and Judy King were tucked away in their luxury cell with a guard posted outside monitoring the door. Jones was sitting on her bed meditating in silence, attempting to flush away her unhappy thoughts towards Judy for not speaking much about the incident that occurred. When Jones heard the gunshots, she asked Judy about it the moment she came back from the riot, but Judy refused to reveal anything other than her eagerness to leave Litchfield. Judy's stubbornness drove Jones to fully block her presence.

Nearly a week into the lockdown, the entire resting quarters of the prison reeked of vomit and other bodily fluids so intense that one could taste it. Large garbage bags had been placed in front of each bunk unit along with a few bins and soap bars. With prison conditions worsening, majority of the inmates found themselves in conflict and some were immediately sent to SHU.

Daya sat outside in the fenced area with her back against the brick wall. She had a busted lip and a cut over her eye from police brutality. There was an expression of lost hope on her face as she stared ahead of her, not really focusing on anything. It was the same look in her photo that was plastered on Channel 12 news with the above title reading, _Cop Killer_.

A female guard stepped to Daya, "You have a visitor."

It was the one thing that broke Daya away from her gaze and induced the question as to who was the visitor.

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3 No Justice, No Peace

Chapter 3 No Justice, No Peace

"It's the truth." Daya responded on the visitation phone while looking through the glass to her visitor. Daya's eyes were watery, but sincere and her face looked as if it went through enough suffering. "It was him… it was CO Humphrey. I didn't kill her… I didn't kill her."

It was her third time confessing to her visitor, Danny Pearson, who took a genuine concern for Daya's side of the story.

"Daya, I believe you. I know how corrupt these for-profit prison systems can be and I will do everything in my power to get you out of here."

"When?"

"I don't know…" Danny tilted his head with uncertainty while shrugging. "I would have to properly investigate this and get back to you when I can."

"How long will that take?"

"I don't want to scare you with numbers, but I will tell you that I won't stop at this investigation until you are out of Max. Believe me when I say, I will do everything possible to help you. What happened during the riot was a horrific act and only proved how Humphrey is a sadistic opportunist who will go through extreme measures to make incarcerated women seem like monsters. He pretends to be the victim, but I will uncover his act and reveal him as the monster he truly is."

Danny was able to catch Caputo in Litchfield's parking lot. He noticed Caputo appeared stressed as if he had a billion thoughts running through his mind while he headed to his car. Caputo glanced ahead and happened to see Danny.

"Pearson? What're you doing here?"

"I told you repeatedly, it's Danny. And I'm here to speak with you in regards to Dayanara Diaz."

Caputo briefly sighed. "I can't right now. I have a lot to do and a billion thoughts rushing through my mind. Not only am I working my ass off to get this lockdown lifted, but I'm under a great deal of pressure to hire more staff and I'm finding it excruciatingly hard to do considering we are nicknamed, by PC thugs, as _Litchkill Prison_ \- a name so catchy that it made it to the front page."

"Daya's innocent. She wasn't the one that killed CO McCollough, it was Humphrey."

Caputo paused momentarily. "And you know this, how?"

"I paid her a visit in Max and got her side of the story. I can tell when a person is being sincere or not. Having worked at MCC, really gained me an insight on how people respond when fabricating a story. I can tell you, Daya was 100 percent truthful, she did not commit the crime."

"It's going to take a lot more than you believing her. Look, I'm not saying Daya did it, but if what she's saying is actually true, then you're going to need some cold hard evidence to prove it. Honestly, I'm surprised myself, that doesn't seem like her."

"Well, what about the security cameras? I can take a look at the footage from last week and go from there. In fact, why not we take a look together?"

Caputo shook his head vigorously. "No, that can _never_ happen."

"No?! I thought you stood behind these women? What happened to fighting for what's right? You're not seriously going to disregard substantial evidence that can take a woman out of Max for a crime she didn't commit?"

"I want to fight for what's right, okay…" Caputo heavily sighed before running his fingers down his beard. "But, due to budget cuts, we haven't had working surveillance in several months."

Danny returned with a look of disappointment which only led Caputo bending his own head down in shame.

"Free Daya!" the entire Latina dorm collectively chanted after being fed up with the strict lockdown, coincidentally the black dorm were chanting "no justice, no peace!" It was a chant led by Taystee.

Their outburst was enough to make the SWAT men angry and one of them irate when Taystee stepped out of her bunk.

"Inmate! Step back in your fucking cube or I'll blow your fucking head off!" The fully covered SWAT man said, the only visible aspect on him was his pale skin.

The dorm grew silent as well as Taystee. Instead of abiding orders, she aimed a serious angry expression at him before boldly walking towards his direction.

"I'm not fucking around, inmate! Stand back!" He positioned his weapon to kill but Taystee didn't back away.

"What was that?" She responded with much attitude. "You're gonna shoot me? I'm right here!" She said while placing her forehead to his gun, all while maintaining a mean mug.

Janae and Cindy stared in shock along with the rest of the women who were in their cubes. The other guards watched as everything unfolded. Seconds passed and Taystee was still standing like a rebel in front of the SWAT man who felt like a fool by her. It was the most uncomfortable feeling to the guard to have his authority challenged by an inmate, particularly a black inmate. The SWAT guards were not as dangerous as they appeared because it was becoming all too evident that none of them actually had bullets, considering they would have shot someone from the start.

The SWAT man used his weapon as a bat to hit Taystee against the head, but Taystee immediately blocked the blow by shielding herself with her hands. She was struck hard enough to lose her balance, causing her to hit the floor with bloody hands.

The entire dorm reacted concurrently with a gasp of shock thinking that it was the end of Taystee. Some inmates like Janae and Cindy were balling their fist preparing to help her out.

But instead of continuing to hit her, the SWAT man looked down on her and said, "you fucking inmates."

The silence between Judy and Yoga Jones became too unbearable for Judy.

"Oh, I can't take anymore of this!" Judy said in frustration. "It's bad enough that I have to stay stuck in this ratchet hellhole!"

"Oh poor you." Jones said dryly, avoiding eye contact with Judy.

"Poor me, that's right! When I leave this place, I'll have memories that'll haunt me for life! These CO's are fucking nuts! Killing inmates and shooting other CO's. I gotta get the hell outta this place!"

Jones finally turned to her, "Shooting other CO's? What're you talking about?"

Judy revealed everything that happened on the day of the riot and Jones grew more shocked after every word.

"Judy, you've got to say something!"

"And what?! Get shot and killed too?! Fuck that! I gave you a cellphone, you know how to use it."

"But, it'll be their word against an inmate's word. They need to hear it from someone with a higher status, you know, money!"

"Not my problem. Leave me out of this!"

There was a knock at the door before the person allowed themselves in.

"Judy King," it was Piscatella holding a confidential document in his hand. "You will be released today, if you sign this document stating that you will not discuss the events that have taken place at Litchfield."

"Done!" Judy said, grabbing a pen to sign the document. "I'll sign a contract with the devil himself if it meant gettin' the hell out of here!"

Jones rolled her eyes. "You just did."

Judy felt liberated walking down that long hallway, again. This time, it was just Piscatella escorting her out. She shuddered at the thought of last week's events repeating itself. The halls elicited flashbacks of the riot and made her feel overwhelmed. She gave Piscatella an extended look when they reached the exit door. As with all stares from women, it brought a sense of discomfort to Piscatella.

"What?" he asked.

She opened her mouth and paused for a moment as if to consider what she was about to say next.

"When I get home, I'm going to cuddle up in my favorite blanket next to the fire." She smiled proudly.

"It's 83 degrees." Piscatella responded.

 _A fire blazed inside of a portable pit outside under the black sky._

 _Piscatella and Goremen were wrapped together in a long blanket. Piscatella dozed off in boredom. Goremen admired the way he slept as he snapped a picture of the moment._

To be continued...

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 _Thanks everyone for the reviews! I really appreciate you all taking the time to read my story and leaving a comment. 1 more chapter to go before complete! Is it too late for Daya? Will Danny somehow find a way to get her out, or will Caputo do something? Or maybe someone else will save the day, or will they? Hmm..._


	4. Chapter 4 Loose Lips, Sink Ships

Chapter 4 Loose Lips, Sink Ships

Daya lied against the brick wall, shedding tears as the words _death row_ echoed in her head. It was her sentence as a convicted cop killer. Danny was proven to be unreliable considering she hadn't seen him in nearly a week.

Since the time had passed, Caputo was able to permanently lift the strict lockdown set by MCC officials and get things running back to normal… except 'normal' seemed to have been modified. Because of the riot, nearly everyone lost their job including Taystee, who incited the riot- instead they were given other jobs with lower wages. The food was nothing more than flavorless and served in liquid form in colors of brown and black. It was prison life punishment for attempting to beat an already corrupt system.

Daya's clothes were becoming baggy as she was losing an excessive amount of weight. Being in max had robbed her of an appetite to eat, let alone, live.

"Daya is innocent." Danny repeated to himself in the parking lot of Litchfield without any viable evidence. He sat behind the wheel, preparing himself to speak with Caputo once again to further aid his solo investigation. To Danny's surprise, he noticed Humps heading towards the entrance, but couldn't convince the guards to let him inside of the building. After a heated exchange of words, Humps stormed off to his car and Danny prepared to tail him…

Meanwhile, Ferguson stood before Caputo with her arms crossed while maintaining an expression completely voided of a smile.

"Really, Joey, you lifted the lock?" she asked in a firm manner that didn't shy away from annoyance.

"I had to babe, these girls are under enough stress as it is." he ran his fingers down his beard. "They been through enough, it was the least I could do."

"What? No! Those inmates disregarded prison policy and took it among themselves to kill a CO. They can't be trusted and your decision to lift the lock under these circumstances compromises our safety. It's only a matter of time before they repeat their outburst." she stared deeply with distressed eyes into his. "I refuse to stand by the poor choice you have made."

"Well, there's the door." He said, immediately regretting it which clearly showed in his expression as his lips tightened and eyes shut. He mentally slapped himself unable to get a word out as he watched her leave.

.

An hour had passed when Humps finally stopped at a bar. He had been driving around locally, oblivious to Danny following him.

Humps was seated at the bar alongside Dixon and Stratman while Danny sat at a round table for two nearby.

Danny didn't have much of an action plan in regards to aiding his investigation. He was more of a plan-as-he-go type of guy and persistent in his ways for fighting for what's right. Danny closely studied Humps' behavior, growing disgusted by the vibe Humps was giving off. Danny found Humps' smile to be the most off-putting- it was malicious. If the world burned in a flaming inferno, Danny imagined Humps' smile would still prevail.

After a few drinks, Humps was talking more, but Dixon and Stratman felt slightly annoyed by his presence considering they didn't invite him. They were also uneasy being near him because of what happened in the past.

"Hey, wanna hear some freaky shit?" Humps smirked and they nodded in response because they were bored and didn't have anything better to do. Humps continued. "You know the inmate that got sent to Max? She didn't shoot and kill McCollough... I did." He laughed.

Dixon and Stratman stared at each other in shock before glancing over their shoulders.

"We lost our jobs because of you." Dixon said, holding back the urge to punch him in the face.

"Yea, man, that's not cool." Stratman added.

Like a child, Humps stopped laughing and became upset that they were taking it too serious.

"A couple of limp dicks. We didn't lose our jobs. Bartender another round! " Humps whistled while hitting his hand repeatedly on the bar counter. "Aren't you at least interested in how I did it?"

"No." Stratman said, almost a whisper. "Stop talking about it."

"I snatched the gun from her after hearing a gun sound off. OH! You should have seen the look on her face! She thought she was done for! And McCollough was just lying there, man, I couldn't resist!" Humps had an insane look in his eye as he reenacted the scene with his hand aiming like a gun. "Pow! I shot her just like that."

.

"Holy shit." Caputo said in shock after watching what was now a phone recording of Humps admitting to the murder taken by Danny.

It was enough substantial evidence for a warrant to be sent out for Humps' arrest. Daya was taken out of Max, but not immediately, considering she held two correctional officers at gunpoint. Caputo declined a news report to cover the story, too ashamed to stand in front of the camera again in fear of being perceived of not being qualified for the position he held. Though, Caputo did say he wanted to cover a story to clear Daya's name, he never mentioned a date in doing so. His intentions were well; he visited Daya and apologized immensely for what she had to experience because of Humps. He mentioned several times how glad he was that she didn't pull the trigger on anyone and how he never trusted Humps from the beginning. Daya's expression of tears of despair transitioned to relief and tears of happiness hearing the words that she was innocent.

.

Seeing the video of Humps admitting to the murder, brought Piscatella to near tears and elicited a memory from his past that brings him to embarrassment whenever mentioned.

 _Piscatella stepped into the break room noticing a group of his coworkers huddled in a circle, laughing amongst themselves._

 _Piscatella sighed. "As a severely under staff male prison, we sure do a lot of horse shitting around, when we should be watching the criminals."_

 _They laughed harder as they looked at him. Piscatella noticed they were looking at something on a cellphone that was being held by one of the guys. He was hand signaled to join them and he felt annoyed walking over to see what they were so focused on. When he viewed the phone, his eyes widen in response to seeing a picture of himself sleeping next to inmate Goremen._

.

.

Cindy saw Taystee sitting alone in her bunk with her elbows on her lap and her hands in each others. Cindy was too focused on what she overheard from Spanish Harlem to even notice Taystee's upset expression.

"Yo, it's crazy out there," Cindy said while taking a seat on the bed next to Taystee. "That Latina chick from the kitchen is blowing up over what happened to that chick that got sent to Max. What's her name? The older one? I think it starts with a G... nevermind. But she was going off in Spanish, talking real fast and throwing her hands in the air. Man, I wish I had one of them, um, whatchu call it- translator earpieces! I'd be eavesdropping like a motherfuckah! Let one of them say some shit to me in Spanish, I'd clap back with 'I heard what you said, shabbat shalom bitch."

Cindy laughed, thinking of all the fun she could have with an earpiece translator. She came back to the reality of prison life and began noticing the look on her friend's face; it was uninterrupted by Cindy's presence and upset.

"You okay?" Cindy asked.

Taystee shook her head, indicating no.

Cindy nodded, understanding why Taystee was upset and wished there was something she could do to make her feel better. She hated seeing her friend down, but knew nothing could be done to ease Taystee's pain, except for the CO to unkill Poussey.

Ever since the death of her best friend, Taystee had been haunted with nightmares of the event repeating in her head. She went days without sleeping just to avoid waking up angry until last night when her drowsiness got the best of her. Taystee found herself in bed with Poussey who was smiling at how Taystee's nails looked from being polished. Poussey had did a horrible job with Taystee's nails and used two different colors of polish because one ran empty. Taystee could feel Poussey's hands on hers and the touch induced warmness throughout her body. It brought Taystee to tears waking up to the realization that she was dreaming and the harsh reality that her best friend was dead. In a way, it felt like her dream was teasing her. She knew it was illogical to be mad at a dream, which is why she directed her aggression towards CO Bayley, who was scheduled to return back to work later that day, just two weeks after the tragic death of Poussey. Taystee finally turned to Cindy, making a fist to smack into her own hand.

"This isn't over." Taystee said, which made Cindy nod in agreement for they were both equally ready to plan a well-thought out revenge.

.

..

...

The end.

* * *

 _Thanks again everyone for taking the time to read and review my first OITNB ff story! Hope you all enjoyed it._


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